家蝇蛹甘露糖结合凝集素的结构及免疫调节作用

分析了一种分子量为24 kDa,具有免疫活性的新型家蝇蛹甘露糖结合凝集素(MBL-1)的结构,为深入研究其结构与功能之间的关系提供依据.首先通过凝胶电泳及Schiff's染色确定此新型家蝇蛹凝集素具有糖链结构.通过β-消除反应、红外光谱、原子力显微镜和蛋白N端测序仪对其结构进行分析.结果表明MBL-1是一种存在N-糖苷键,蛋白含量为97.20％、糖含量为2.55％,直径60～100 nm的椭球状蛋白单体,肽链N-端封闭.MTT实验证明MBL-1可以明显促进巨噬细胞的增殖且具有浓度依赖性,扫描电镜观察结果表明,MBL-1作用后的巨噬细胞形态呈现活化状态.可见,分离纯化出的MBL-1是一种具有明显的免疫调节活性的新型凝集素,为开发天然免疫增强剂和进一步分析其结构及其作用机制提供了参考.     

凝集素芯片技术检测糖蛋白方法的建立及初步应用

建立了凝集素芯片技术检测糖蛋白的方法,对实验条件进行了优化,应用凝集素芯片初步检测分析了Chang?蒺s liver正常肝细胞总蛋白中的糖蛋白糖链构成．将凝集素ConA、GNA固定于环氧化修饰的玻片表面,用Cy3标记标准糖蛋白RNaseB,利用凝集素识别特异糖链的原理建立凝集素芯片检测糖蛋白的方法．摸索出最佳封闭剂是含1% BSA的磷酸缓冲液,最佳孵育时间及温度为3 h和室温,最佳孵育缓冲液为含1% BSA和0.05% Tween-20的磷酸缓冲液,并用甘露糖抑制实验验证了凝集素芯片结合的特异性．用包含10种凝集素的芯片,成功解析了标准糖蛋白RNaseB、Fetuin的糖链构成,证实了凝集素芯片检测糖蛋白糖链的可行性．最后用凝集素芯片初步检测分析了Chang?蒺s liver正常肝细胞总蛋白中的糖蛋白糖链构成,发现 Chang's liver正常肝细胞总蛋白中的糖蛋白可能有多价 Sia或GlcNAc、terminalα-1,3 mannose、GalNAc、Galβ-1,4GlcNAc这些糖链结构的存在．蛋白质糖基化是一种重要的翻译后修饰,它在微生物感染、细胞分化、肿瘤转移、细胞癌变等生命活动中起着重要作用,因此近年来蛋白质的糖基化研究受到广泛的重视,但由于缺乏一种简便、快速、高通量的检测手段,蛋白质糖基化修饰的研究发展缓慢．凝集素芯片技术的出现实现了对糖蛋白的快速、准确、高通量的检测 分析．     

刺参甘露糖结合凝集素的生物信息学分析

甘露糖结合凝集素(mannan-binding lectin,MBL)属于C型动物凝集素超家族,特异地结合甘露糖。MBL是宿主起始免疫系统一个重要成分,因此近年来逐渐成为研究的热点。采用生物信息学技术对刺参(Apostichopus japonicus)MBL(AJ-MBL)的两个基因编码的蛋白质结构和功能进行了分析,包括信号肽、分子量、等电点、跨膜结构域、糖基化和磷酸化位点、二级结构和三级结构等,旨在了解其结构特征,为动物免疫反应方面研究提供理论基础。     

刺参甘露糖结合凝集素的生物信息学分析

甘露糖结合凝集素(mannan-binding lectin,MBL)属于C型动物凝集素超家族,特异地结合甘露糖。MBL是宿主起始免疫系统一个重要成分,因此近年来逐渐成为研究的热点。采用生物信息学技术对刺参(Apostichopus japonicus)MBL(AJ-MBL)的两个基因编码的蛋白质结构和功能进行了分析,包括信号肽、分子量、等电点、跨膜结构域、糖基化和磷酸化位点、二级结构和三级结构等,旨在了解其结构特征,为动物免疫反应方面研究提供理论基础。     

凝集素芯片对体液细胞进行检测方法的建立和初步应用

建立对体液细胞进行自动捕获的凝集素芯片体系,利用凝集素对糖链的特异亲和作用捕获细胞,提取白血病患者外周血、肺癌胸水和肝腹水中细胞进行荧光标记,凝集素芯片捕获,激光扫描仪检测捕获细胞的荧光信号,常规HE染色后光学显微镜下观察细胞的形态并进行免疫化学反应,流式细胞仪验证凝集素芯片的特异性．结果表明：凝集素芯片可以对体液中的癌细胞进行自动捕获,对癌细胞膜表面糖链进行识别．芯片检测的细胞浓度最少可达每mL10^4个左右．芯片有较好的重复性和特异性．这种凝集素芯片可用于临床体液中癌细胞的检测分析,对癌细胞膜表面凝集素亲和位点进行即时、高通量的检测,为了解细胞膜表面聚糖在癌变过程中的变化提供了一个技术平台．     

编者按: 糖组学：全面了解生命基础的重要一环

糖组学：全面了解生命基础的重要一环     

凝集素碎片的糖结合活性

用固相合成法分别合成了羊蹄甲、小扁豆和欧洲百脉根３种植物凝集素中的某些糖结合活性部位的肽段。用毛细管电泳法观察到这些肽段和拟糖蛋白以及寡糖之间有一定的结合能力,而且表现出相对的专一性。     

红花菜豆凝集素的糖结合专一性

经肼解、Ｂｉｏ－Ｇｅｌ Ｐ－２柱层析、ＮａＢ＾３Ｈ４和ＮａＢＨ４还原,制备各种来源的、氚标记在还原末端的、还原末端为Ｎ－乙酰氨基葡萄糖醇的混合寡糖,经Ｂｉｏ－Ｇｅｌ Ｐ－４凝胶柱分离,以及用糖苷酶酶解,制备了各种不同类型的氚标记的寡糖。这些寡糖在固定化的ＰＣＬ－Ｓｅｐｈａｒｏｓｅ柱上亲和层析,根据各种类型寡糖在ＰＣＬ－Ｓｅｐｈａｒｏｓｅ柱上的层析行为,确定红花菜豆（矮生红花变种）凝集素（ＰＣＬ）的     

Crystal Structure and Functional Characterization of the Complement Regulator Mannose-binding Lectin (MBL)/Ficolin-associated Protein-1 (MAP-1)

The human lectin complement pathway activation molecules comprise mannose-binding lectin (MBL) and ficolin-1, -2, and -3 in complex with associated serine proteases MASP-1, -2, and -3 and the non-enzymatic small MBL associated protein or sMAP. Recently, a novel plasma protein named MBL/ficolin-associated protein-1 (MAP-1) was identified in humans. This protein is the result of a differential splicing of the MASP1 gene and includes the major part of the heavy chain but lacks the serine protease domain. We investigated the direct interactions of MAP-1 and MASP-3 with ficolin-3 and MBL using surface plasmon resonance and found affinities around 5 nm and 2.5 nm, respectively. We studied structural aspects of MAP-1 and could show by multi-angle laser light scattering that MAP-1 forms a calcium-dependent homodimer in solution. We were able to determine the crystal structure of MAP-1, which also contains a head-to-tail dimer ∼146 Å long. This structure of MAP-1 also enables modeling and assembly of the MASP-1 molecule in its entirety. Finally we found that MAP-1 competes with all three MASPs for ligand binding and is able to mediate a strong dose-dependent inhibitory effect on the lectin pathway activation, as measured by levels of C3 and C9.     

A Novel L-ficolin/Mannose-binding Lectin Chimeric Molecule with Enhanced Activity against Ebola Virus

Ebola viruses constitute a newly emerging public threat because they cause rapidly fatal hemorrhagic fevers for which no treatment exists, and they can be manipulated as bioweapons. We targeted conserved N-glycosylated carbohydrate ligands on viral envelope surfaces using novel immune therapies. Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) and L-ficolin (L-FCN) were selected because they function as opsonins and activate complement. Given that MBL has a complex quaternary structure unsuitable for large scale cost-effective production, we sought to develop a less complex chimeric fusion protein with similar ligand recognition and enhanced effector functions. We tested recombinant human MBL and three L-FCN/MBL variants that contained the MBL carbohydrate recognition domain and varying lengths of the L-FCN collagenous domain. Non-reduced chimeric proteins formed predominantly nona- and dodecameric oligomers, whereas recombinant human MBL formed octadecameric and larger oligomers. Surface plasmon resonance revealed that L-FCN/MBL76 had the highest binding affinities for N-acetylglucosamine-bovine serum albumin and mannan. The same chimeric protein displayed superior complement C4 cleavage and binding to calreticulin (cC1qR), a putative receptor for MBL. L-FCN/MBL76 reduced infection by wild type Ebola virus Zaire significantly greater than the other molecules. Tapping mode atomic force microscopy revealed that L-FCN/MBL76 was significantly less tall than the other molecules despite similar polypeptide lengths. We propose that alterations in the quaternary structure of L-FCN/MBL76 resulted in greater flexibility in the collagenous or neck region. Similarly, a more pliable molecule might enhance cooperativity between the carbohydrate recognition domains and their cognate ligands, complement activation, and calreticulin binding dynamics. L-FCN/MBL chimeric proteins should be considered as potential novel therapeutics.     

Auxin and Monocot Development

Monocots are known to respond differently to auxinic herbicides; hence, certain herbicides kill broadleaf (i.e., dicot) weeds while leaving lawns (i.e., monocot grasses) intact. In addition, the characters that distinguish monocots from dicots involve structures whose development is controlled by auxin. However, the molecular mechanisms controlling auxin biosynthesis, homeostasis, transport, and signal transduction appear, so far, to be conserved between monocots and dicots, although there are differences in gene copy number and expression leading to diversification in function. This article provides an update on the conservation and diversification of the roles of genes controlling auxin biosynthesis, transport, and signal transduction in root, shoot, and reproductive development in rice and maize.Auxinic herbicides have been used for decades to control dicot weeds in domestic lawns (Fig. 1A), commercial golf courses, and acres of corn, wheat, and barley, yet it is not understand how auxinic herbicides selectively kill dicots and spare monocots (Grossmann 2000; Kelley and Reichers 2007). Monocots, in particular grasses, must perceive or respond differently to exogenous synthetic auxin than dicots. It has been proposed that this selectivity is because of either limited translocation or rapid degradation of exogenous auxin (Gauvrit and Gaillardon 1991; Monaco et al. 2002), altered vascular anatomy (Monaco et al. 2002), or altered perception of auxin in monocots (Kelley and Reichers 2007). To explain these differences, there is a need to further understand the molecular basis of auxin metabolism, transport, and signaling in monocots.Open in a separate windowFigure 1.Differences between monocots and dicots. (A) A dicot weed in a lawn of grasses. Note the difference in morphology of the leaves. (B) Germinating dicot (bean) seedling. Dicots have two cotyledons (cot). Reticulate venation is apparent in the leaves. The stem below the cotyledons is called the hypocotyl (hyp). (C) Germinating monocot (maize) seedling. Monocots have a single cotyledon called the coleoptile (col) in grasses. Parallel venation is apparent in the leaves. The stem below the coleoptile is called the mesocotyl (mes).Auxin, as we have seen in previous articles, plays a major role in vegetative, reproductive, and root development in the model dicot, Arabidopsis. However, monocots have a very different anatomy from dicots (Raven et al. 2005). Many of the characters that distinguish monocots and dicots involve structures whose development is controlled by auxin: (1) As the name implies, monocots have single cotyledons, whereas dicots have two cotyledons (Fig. 1B,C). Auxin transport during embryogenesis may play a role in this difference as cotyledon number defects are often seen in auxin transport mutants (reviewed in Chandler 2008). (2) The vasculature in leaves of dicots is reticulate, whereas the vasculature in monocots is parallel (Fig. 1). Auxin functions in vascular development because many mutants defective in auxin transport, biosynthesis, or signaling have vasculature defects (Scarpella and Meijer 2004). (3) Dicots often produce a primary tap root that produces lateral roots, whereas, in monocots, especially grasses, shoot-borne adventitious roots are the most prominent component of the root system leading to the characteristic fibrous root system (Fig. 2). Auxin induces lateral-root formation in dicots and adventitious root formation in grasses (Hochholdinger and Zimmermann 2008).Open in a separate windowFigure 2.The root system in monocots. (A) Maize seedling showing the primary root (1yR), which has many lateral roots (LR). The seminal roots (SR) are a type of adventitious root produced during embryonic development. Crown roots (CR) are produced from stem tissue. (B) The base of a maize plant showing prop roots (PR), which are adventitious roots produced from basal nodes of the stem later in development.It is not yet clear if auxin controls the differences in morphology seen in dicots versus monocots. However, both conservation and diversification of mechanisms of auxin biosynthesis, homeostasis, transport, and signal transduction have been discovered so far. This article highlights the similarities and the differences in the role of auxin in monocots compared with dicots. First, the genes in each of the pathways are introduced (Part I, Table I) and then the function of these genes in development is discussed with examples from the monocot grasses, maize, and rice (Part II).     

一种新的甘露糖结合凝集素——朱顶兰凝集素基因的克隆及序列分析

运用同源克隆的方法设计简并引物,通过3′和5′RACE技术,从石蒜科植物朱顶兰(Amaryllis vittata Ait)总RNA中克隆了编码此凝集素(AVA)的全长cDNA序列。该基因全长686 bp,起始密码子位于第41～43 bp,终止密码子位于515～517bp处,开放阅读框长474 bp,编码158个氨基酸,包含信号肽序列、成熟蛋白序列和C-末端剪切序列的前体蛋白。成熟蛋白由109个氨基酸残基组成,分子量为11.9kD。成熟蛋白在氨基酸水平上与雪花莲凝集素、水仙凝集素、石蒜凝集素和君子兰凝集素分别有73.4％、85.3％、80.7％和83.5％的同源性;朱顶兰凝集素的分子模式显示其与雪花莲凝集素有极其相似的三维结构;在Blocks数据库中检索AVA蛋白氨基酸序列的结构域,发现有3个凝集素功能结构域,并具有3个典型的甘露糖专一结合位点盒(QDNY)。     

Secondary Cell Wall Polymers of Enterococcus faecalis Are Critical for Resistance to Complement Activation via Mannose-binding Lectin

The complement system is part of our first line of defense against invading pathogens. The strategies used by Enterococcus faecalis to evade recognition by human complement are incompletely understood. In this study, we identified an insertional mutant of the wall teichoic acid (WTA) synthesis gene tagB in E. faecalis V583 that exhibited an increased susceptibility to complement-mediated killing by neutrophils. Further analysis revealed that increased killing of the mutant was due to a higher rate of phagocytosis by neutrophils, which correlated with higher C3b deposition on the bacterial surface. Our studies indicated that complement activation via the lectin pathway was much stronger on the tagB mutant compared with wild type. In concordance, we found an increased binding of the key lectin pathway components mannose-binding lectin and mannose-binding lectin-associated serine protease-2 (MASP-2) on the mutant. To understand the mechanism of lectin pathway inhibition by E. faecalis, we purified and characterized cell wall carbohydrates of E. faecalis wild type and V583ΔtagB. NMR analysis revealed that the mutant strain lacked two WTAs with a repeating unit of →6)[α-l-Rhap-(1→3)]β-d-GalpNAc-(1→5)-Rbo-1-P and →6) β-d-Glcp-(1→3) [α-d-Glcp-(1→4)]-β-d-GalpNAc-(1→5)-Rbo-1-P→, respectively (Rbo, ribitol). In addition, compositional changes in the enterococcal rhamnopolysaccharide were noticed. Our study indicates that in E. faecalis, modification of peptidoglycan by secondary cell wall polymers is critical to evade recognition by the complement system.     

Human Serum Mannose-binding Lectin Senses Wall Teichoic Acid Glycopolymer of Staphylococcus aureus,Which Is Restricted in Infancy

Innate immunity is the first line of host defense against invading pathogens, and it is recognized by a variety of pattern recognition molecules, including mannose-binding lectin (MBL). MBL binds to mannose and N-acetylglucosamine residues present on the glycopolymers of microorganisms. Human serum MBL functions as an opsonin and activates the lectin complement pathway. However, which glycopolymer of microorganism is recognized by MBL is still uncertain. Here, we show that wall teichoic acid of Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterial cell surface glycopolymer containing N-acetylglucosamine residue, is a functional ligand of MBL. Whereas serum MBL in adults did not bind to wall teichoic acid because of an inhibitory effect of anti-wall teichoic acid antibodies, MBL in infants who had not yet fully developed their adaptive immunity could bind to S. aureus wall teichoic acid and then induced complement C4 deposition. Our data explain the molecular reasons of why MBL-deficient infants are susceptible to S. aureus infection.     

Molecular Structure and Properties of Lectin from Tomato Fruit

A cDNA encoding tomato fruit lectin was cloned from an unripe cherry-tomato fruit cDNA library. The isolated lectin cDNA contained an open reading frame encoding 365 amino acids, including peptides that were sequenced. The deduced sequence consisted of three distinct domains: (i) an N-terminal short extensin-like domain; (ii) a Cys-rich carbohydrate binding domain composed of four almost identical chitin-binding domains; (iii) an internal extensin-like domain of 101 residues containing 15 SerPro₄ motifs inserted between the first and second chitin-binding domains. The molecular weight of the lectin was 65,633 and that of the deglycosylated lectin was 32,948, as determined by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). This correlated with the estimated molecular weight of the deduced sequence. Recombinant tomato lectin expressed in Pichia pastoris possessed chitin-binding but not hemagglutinating activity. These findings confirmed that the cDNA encoded tomato lectin.     

百两金皂苷类似物的化学与药理学研究进展

对百两金皂苷类似物的化学和药理活性进行文献综述。迄今报道的百两金皂苷类似物大约有60个,其齐墩果烷三萜母核上具有多种与生物活性有关的特征取代基,包括13β,28-环醚、30-氧化甲基和3-O-糖链等。该类物质多具抗肿瘤、抗炎和抗真菌等药理活性,值得深入研究。     

Structure and Bioactivity of Recombinant Human CTAP-III and NAP-2

Connective tissue-activating peptide III (CTAP-III) and neutrophil-activating peptide-2 (NAP-2) are both derived from a common precursor, platelet basic protein (PBP), which is stored in the -granules of platelets and released upon their activation. CTAP-III is an 85-residue peptide which is converted to NAP-2 by enzymic removal of the 15 amino-terminal residues. Both peptides play a role in the early stages of wound healing and inflammation through different activities. We have cloned the cDNA for PBP and expressed constructs coding for the CTAP-III and NAP-2 polypeptides in Escherichia coli. We have purified and renatured these recombinant proteins. The integrity of the recombinant proteins has been ascertained by in vitro bioassays. CTAP-III causes 51% histamine release from the basophilic cell lin KU812 at 10^–7 M, whereas NAP-2 only causes 28% release at the same concentration. In assays on human neutrophils, NAP-2 had an EC ₅₀ of 2×10^–8 M in chemotaxis, an EC ₅₀ of 3×10^–8 M for shape change, and could displace IL-8 from neutrophils with a K _d of 7.5×10^–9 M. CTAP-III had no activity in these assays. The disulfide bonds have been identified by peptide mapping and sequence analysis, and are in the positions predicted by homology to interleukin-8 and platelet factor 4. Measurement of the molecular mass at physiologic concentrations by gel permeation chromatography has shown that CTAP-III forms predominantly tetramers and dimers, whereas NAP-2 is only dimetric. SDS/PAGE analysis of samples cross-linked with disuccinimidyl suberate support these topologies. We postulate a mechanism for tetramer formation based on the interaction of the amino-terminal extension in CTAP-III involving a helix–helix interaction that could stabilize the association of two CTAP-III dimers.